Chuck Jones, who fueded with Donald Trump over Carrier jobs, is now protesting the president's speech at the State Fairgrounds.
Mykal McEldowney and Nate Chute/IndyStar

Buy Photo

President Donald Trump takes the stage after being introduced by Vice President Mike Pence during a December visit to the Carrier factory in Indianapolis. Trump and Pence, then governor of Indiana, negotiated a deal to keep Carrier's furnace factory open.(Photo: Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar)Buy Photo

A year after President Donald Trump announced that he saved Carrier Corp. employees from losing their jobs to Mexico, a former union boss who has publicly feuded with Trump says employees are still waiting for the victory they were promised.

Jones, former president of United Steel Workers Local 1999, called it a "symbolic moment that cemented Trump’s campaign image as a working-class champion — a blue-collar billionaire who would stand with workers, not CEOs."

But Jones said workers have been fed empty promises as many prepare to be let go by the company. Carrier expects to lay off 215 people in January, down from its last estimate of 275. That would bring the total number of layoffs to 553 for the year, down from a previous figure of 660. The company in a statement said it reduced the number of layoffs because of attrition.

"A year later, we feel betrayed ... the workers at Carrier aren’t the only ones who feel victimized by Trump’s false promises," Jones writes. "United Technologies, Carrier’s parent company, is laying off another 700 workers right up the road from the Carrier plant in Huntington. And Rexnord, another plant in Indianapolis, just closed its doors, too.

"Workers at both plants hoped that Trump would come to the rescue, but he never showed up."

Jones says the betrayal goes beyond Indiana, stating that workers nationwide feel like they too are victims of a "false Trumpian bargain, in which they were invited to trade their votes to keep their jobs."

"In fact, according to new research conducted by Good Jobs Nation, more than 91,000 jobs have been sent overseas since Trump was elected, the highest rate of jobs lost to outsourcing in five years," Jones writes. "This summer, I traveled across the Midwest, from Indianapolis to Kalamazoo to Racine, to talk with hundreds of manufacturing workers who lost their jobs to foreign countries. Many of them (some wearing “Make America Great Again” hats) agreed that Trump hasn’t lived up to his end of the deal."

CLOSE

President-elect Donald Trump gave one number on the amount of jobs that would be saved and a union president, another. So which is it?
Nate Chute/IndyStar

Jones continues, saying that workers know that Trump has the power to stop offshoring, and that as president of the United States, he can tell federal contractors like United Technologies that tax dollars will not fund corporations that continue to offshore jobs.

He then criticized Trump for not taking action. He writes that of the more than 100 executive orders signed since Trump took office, none of them have been focused on stopping offshoring by federal contractors.

"Last year, after Trump announced his Carrier 'victory,' I decided that I had to speak out," Jones writes. "I said that 'Trump was lying his a‑‑ off' about saving all the Carrier jobs: We had met with Carrier hours before Trump’s speech, and they gave us the job numbers they expected to preserve, but when Trump got on stage, he gave wildly inflated numbers.

"A year after his election, Trump continues to lie about his commitment to saving jobs at Carrier or anywhere else. And workers are taking note."

President-elect Donald Trump takes the stage after being introduced by Vice President-elect, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, to tell about the jobs that are staying in the US at Carrier. An event at the Indianapolis factory was held to announce the info, Thursday, December 1, 2016. Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

A Carrier employee claims that it was her son that President-elect Donald Trump spoke about who had heard him say he was keeping Carrier jobs in the US. Trump spoke at an event at the Indianapolis factory, Thursday, December 1, 2016, to announce that the jobs will stay and other companies will face consequences if they choose to leave the country. Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

President-elect Donald Trump talks to Carrier employees and supporters after an event, Thursday, December 1, 2016, at the factory, announcing that jobs, once slated for Mexico, will stay in the US. Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

Vice President-elect Mike Pence is all smiles as he speaks at Carrier during an event at the Indianapolis factory announcing that jobs will stay in the US, Thursday, December 1, 2016. After speaking, Pence introduced President-elect Donald Trump, to whom Pence gave the credit for the good news. Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

A Carrier employee shows his agreement and happiness by gesturing while President-elect Donald Trump spoke at the factory during an event at the Indianapolis factory announcing that jobs will stay at Carrier and in the US, Thursday, December 1, 2016. Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

Carrier's Greg Hayes, left, shakes hands with Vice President-elect Mike Pence after introducing him during an event at the Indianapolis factory, Thursday, December 1, 2016, announcing that jobs will stay at Carrier and in the US. President-elect Donald Trump also spoke. Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at Carrier during an event at the Indianapolis factory, Thursday, December 1, 2016, announcing that jobs will stay at Carrier and in the US. Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

Carrier employees and supporters video tape President-elect Donald Trump as he spoke at Carrier during an event, Thursday, December 1, 2016, announcing that jobs will stay at Carrier and in the US. Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

Carrier employee Jeffery Blackford smiles as he talks about how happy he is that jobs will stay at Carrier's Indianapolis plant, after an event, Thursday, December 1, 2016, where President-elect Donald Trump spoke about the happy news for the company. Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

President-elect Donald Trump takes the stage after being introduced to tell about the jobs that are staying in the US at Carrier. An event at the Indianapolis factory was held to announce the info, Thursday, December 1, 2016. Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

President-elect Donald Trump takes the stage after being introduced to tell about the jobs that are staying in the US at Carrier. An event at the Indianapolis factory was held to announce the info, Thursday, December 1, 2016. Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

President-elect Donald Trump takes the stage after being introduced by Vice President-elect, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, to tell about the jobs that are staying in the US at Carrier. An event at the Indianapolis factory was held to announce the info, Thursday, December 1, 2016. Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar